It really depends what sound you need, I usually try to have a “safe” mic and an “experimental” mic that way I have options! I highly recommend that you try things even if you mute them during a service, try a second mic on a source and see what you can do with it. That’s the fun part!
Top tech advice from a worship tech director
Brian Davis – Q: Everyone has a nightmare story as it relates to running church audio. What is yours?
A: We had a pretty well-known Christian artist come to our church. I started sound checking with his manager. I thought he was just getting starting levels before the artist came out. When I asked if the artist was coming out he said “No – I’m just doing the check for him”. Sure enough, the artist came out and we had all kinds of problems. The monitors were not right and he couldn’t figure out our mic stand that had a hand clutch to raise and lower the mic. The concert was pretty rough.
Jason Cole – Q: What tip you would give a new sound volunteer?
A: Take every opportunity to build relationships with the musicians. Building trust with them will allow you to have difficult conversations and they will know your heart in the matter. My best friend was a worship pastor at my church years ago. Because of our friendship we shared everything with each other. It was easy to tell each other something wasn’t working and help find a better solution.
[And] Never leave home without a two Sharpies (black and silver) and some gaff tape. I keep some in my car, seriously. Yes, I’m aware of my extreme geekiness.
Steve Siebers – Q: One of your sound techs mentioned you came from a background in live TV production. What did you learn in that job that helped you as a technical director?
A: The majority of my career was as a video editor and producer but I did freelance for about a year doing live sports; minor league baseball, hockey and Arena football. Here a couple things I learned from that experience:
- If you’re 15 minutes early you’re late.
- When your job is done don’t leave (or might not get paid) see who needs help, and help them finish. No-one could leave until the crew chief called all clear.
- One thing I observed that has affected me is the awful way people get treated during productions. Directors get be very verbally abusive. I do not tolerate that type of behavior and communication during our services. It sounds like an obvious, but you’d be surprised how tense it can get when you strive for excellence without a focus on maintaining unity.
Mike Sessler – Q:What’s the best tip you received that helped improve your mixing ability?
A: An FOH engineer once said to me, “You can only turn the ‘suck’ knob down so far…” After that though, it would have to be “start with the vocals.” I primarily mix in church environments, so for me the key is always making sure the vocals are present in the mix. This gives the congregation confidence to sing out. So before I get the guitar screamin’ or the kick thumping, I will work on getting a good vocal sound.
